


Knock Some Sense

by RazzleyD



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coldflash Exchange 2018, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, M/M, Mild Language, Singing, background atomwave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 05:43:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15454593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RazzleyD/pseuds/RazzleyD
Summary: Barry wakes up in another fever dream created by the Music Meister. Turns out taking the easy way out is not the same as following your heart.





	Knock Some Sense

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bebbie_the_Hufflepuff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bebbie_the_Hufflepuff/gifts).



> This was super fun to write, I'll be honest. I haven't touched coldflash in a while and it was an absolute delight to bring this fic to life. I hope y'all enjoy!
> 
> For the 2 songs sung in this fic:  
> [Hold Me by Steam Powered Giraffe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnHeishUA_w)  
> [What to Do by Ok Go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx5x-Bg0AzU)

Barry groaned as he opened his eyes slowly to adjust to the bright yellow lights that were cranked up to blinding; he rubbed them as he took in his surroundings. He was on a stage. There was a small crowd that had their eyes trained on him, silent glares that conveyed impatience.

 

 _Oh, great._ He thought, _I’m here again._ He knew that this was the Music Meister’s beginning room of choice, a strange memory of course. However, he attempted to close his eyes and pretend this was all a dream, the last thing he remembered was falling asleep next to Iris.

 

He waited a few seconds, nothing. He opened his eyes once more.

 

“I paid to see you sing, Bartholomew.” The room had expanded, the crowd spreading out in seperate tables around an empty spot-lit area in the middle of the floor. In the middle of that circle stood Music Meister himself; spine straight, neat-and-tidy suit, and shit eating grin to top his whole look off.

 

“This… Is a dream.” Barry hoped that by saying it out loud would solidify his belief that this was a dream. But, he was mistaken when his counterpart pulled a chair from the unlit portion of the floor and sat in it backwards.

 

“‘Fraid not, Barry. I’m afraid that you didn’t hear me very clearly last time we crossed paths.” His grin remained solid as he watched the panic settle in Barry’s chest.

 

“What do you mean, you told me to follow my heart! That’s what I did, and now Iris and I are happily married!” Barry held up his left hand to confirm his statement with his wedding ring… That wasn’t on his hand. “What is this?”

 

“Barry I told you to follow your heart. Not to take the safe way out. You followed what felt safest, not what you truly wanted.”

 

“I… I have no idea what you’re--”

 

“Aren’t you going to sing for us, Barry? The crowd is getting antsy…”

 

 _Right,_ Barry thought, _I just have to play along._ He nodded his head and licked his lips as he flipped through his mental list of songs that could possibly convey what he’d been…

 

 _Missing_.

 

He grasped the microphone that seemed to appear in front of him as he took a deep breath. 

 

_You told me, you’d hold me,_

_Hold me ‘til the morning light_

_  
_ _You craved me, you saved me,_

 _Saved me from my own foolish blight_  
_  
_ You’re gone now, I’m strong now,

 _Strong enough to cry only at night_  
  
_I see now, it can’t be now, now that you’re away_  
  
_And I wish that I could be like the desert, he never seems to cry_  
_I wish that I could be like the ocean, she never needs to ask why_  
  
_I’m a lonely lady only, lonely lady only_  
  
_You told me, you’d hold me_  
_Hold me til the mornin’ light_  
_  
_ You craved me, you saved me,

 _Saved me from myself_  
  
_And I wish that I could be like my father, he always knew what was right_  
_I wish that I could be like my mother, she always tucked me in tight_  
  
_I’m a lonely lady only, lonely lady only_  
  
_You told me, you’d hold me_  
_Hold me til the mornin’ light_  
  
_You craved me, you saved me_ _  
_ Saved me from own foolish blight.

 

He pulled away, a calm stillness settling over the stage. Barry felt… relief. A weight had been lifted but he wasn’t sure yet on how to label that feeling. He looked up at the crowd, which had circled back in to create a full room, and Music Meister was gone.

 

He smiled, bowing slightly to accept the praise he was receiving by the crowd. As he scanned the dim faces he took notice of what felt like a familiar one. The man was leaning against the side exit of the building, clapping slowly at Barry’s performance. After he felt like the appropriate time had passed, he slipped wordlessly out the door. Barry unceremoniously jogged off the stage and attempted to follow the man.

 

However, the door he thought led to the outside only led him into another room that he felt was much more familiar, but was… Younger. It fit with the “time” he was stuck in. It was Saints and Sinners, but less… Dirty. It was clean and refined, even if the patrons in this room were smoking cigarettes.

 

He looked around, and found no sign of his mystery man. He felt a gust of wind behind him as the door closed. He slowly paced his way to the bar, he slid himself into an empty seat. He turned his attention towards the stage, where it looked like the band was warming up for a set.

 

“What can I getcha.” The bartender said, his words coming out more of a blunt statement than a question. Barry turned his head to reply, this whole situation had him wanting a drink or two, maybe even a stiff one of Cisco’s. However, the man at the bar he could recognize in an instant, having him turn his whole body.

 

“Mick?” Barry whisper-yelled, eliciting a strange look from him.

 

“Only my friends get to call me that. The name’s Michael. I haven’t met ya up until now, so that means we ain’t friends. Now are you gettin’ a drink or not?” His stern face was enough to ring all kinds of alarm bells in Barry’s mind, afraid the man might end up burning the place down if he didn’t answer properly.

 

“I’ll just… Um…”

 

“He’ll take a soda. He doesn’t need anything heavy.” Music Meister appeared next to him at the bar, Mick’s-- Michael’s face softening and giving him a sure nod. The next second, he was gone.

 

 _Dammit man,_ he thought as he was served his drink, _you’ve gotta give me something more to work with._

 

“Thanks.” He shrugged, taking a sip of the ice-cold soda. He turned partially back around as one of the band members broke away to head towards the bar. As he approached, he recognized the man as Ray Palmer, or at least this version of him.

 

“Raymond.” Michael smiled, pulling up the bar barrier to let him through. Ray smiled as he pecked Mick on the lips.

 

“Wish me luck, babe?” He smiled, watching Mick’s face light up like the night sky under the moon.

 

“Always.” He smiled back, grasping his partner loosely by the hips to kiss him again. Barry almost spat out his drink. The pair pulled away to look directly at him.

 

“Are you alright?” Ray asked, making Michael roll his eyes at the romantic attention he wasn’t getting.

 

“‘M fine. Fine. Thank you.” Barry held up a thumb and made a good effort to smile genuinely. Raymond nodded his head and gave Michael one more good kiss before slipping back out of the bar and onto the stage.

 

“You got a problem?” Mick had a full on grimmace now, his muscled arms laid on the bar as he hunched over.

 

“No! No.” Barry could feel the embarrassing heat crawl across his cheeks, and he took his drink to sit somewhere else, closer to the stage. He took a seat at an empty table that was off-center to the stage, but he was in the line of sight of Ray, who smiled and waved to him before looking back at Mick to wink at him.

 

The band held their instruments at the ready, waiting on their queue. However, before they could start, Music Meister entered stage left and halted them. He gave them all new sheets of music to their dismay, and told them to do their best.

 

“Well folks, we have a guest singer tonight. He’ll be here for one song, and then your regularly scheduled jazz band will perform. Thank you.” He earned pained glances from the band and confused from the audience as he disappeared behind the curtain.

 

“Are you ready?” He asked.

 

“As I can be.” Leonard Snart replied, ensuring that his tie was straight and that his vest was tight enough.

 

“Blow him away.” Meister smiled at him, watching him walk past and on to the stage where he was greeted by hesitant applause.

 

“Oh my god…” Barry mouthed into his drink, a very well-dressed Leonard Snart appearing on stage behind the microphone. Barry felt his heartbeat quicken and his stomach drop. That unnamed feeling he had a few minutes ago had earned its label: yearning.

 

Barry’s feelings for Leonard Snart that he had spent so damn long trying to push down and hide, especially after his death, were all coming up and bubbling in his brain. He looked as he did when he joined the legends, happy yet mischievous. His long fingers carefully slid around the microphone and its stand, his gaze scanning over the crowd until it landed on Barry.

 

He gave him a knowing smile before taking a deep breath and opening his mouth to sing.

 

 _Come on in, sweetie-pie, have an apple, have some lye..._ __  
_Leave your friends, righteous and pathetic, standing at the door._ __  
_On the books, all your bets favor head-bands and cassettes,_ _  
_ _Cigarettes, suffragettes, and bores._

 _What to do?_ __  
_Sweetheart, you'll find mediocre people do exceptional things all the time._ __  
_Oh, the ruin will do in your talented mind..._ _  
_ _Could've been a genius if you'd had an axe to grind._

Barry could barely breathe, Leonard’s voice was gripping enough on its own, but when he sang… Barry felt a pang of regret.

 

“Oh you feel that too?” Music Meister appeared beside him, making Barry jump and almost spill his drink. “His voice is something else…”

 

“Why are you doing this to me?”

 

“You already know the answer to that question, Barry. I thought you were a little brighter than that.” He was gone as quickly as he appeared, and Barry looked quickly to see if he was still around. His gaze fell back on Len.

 

_When we moved to the city, it seemed the competition got so much less pretty_

_But the mirror's never failed you like this before._

_So your revenge on the world will be pencils through your curls_ __  
_And if wanting ever taught you anything, it's wanting more._ _  
_ _(and more and more and more...)_

 

Barry did want more. He… Wanted to be with Leonard Snart. He let that thought settle on his heart.

 

 _What to do?_ __  
_Sweetheart, you'll find mediocre people do exceptional things all_ __  
_The time._ __  
_Oh, the ruin will do in your talented mind..._ __  
_Could've been a genius if you'd had an axe to grind._ _  
_ _What to do?_

What is he going to do…?

 

 _When that day finally nears, you'll at least have made it clear_ _  
_ _That compassion's just a nicer way of looking down your nose._

 _It seems that all the people want to do is crowd the streets of_ __  
_Amsterdam (Pamplona, too),_ __  
_But the bulls have already come and gone and bellowed all their lows._ _  
_ _Now nobody knows_

Barry took a breath. His feelings for Len were still very real and very deep. He allowed himself to look at Leonard with no shame, enjoying the wonderful tone of his voice.

 

 _What to do._ __  
_Sweetheart, you'll find mediocre people do exceptional things all_ __  
_The time._ __  
_Oh, the ruin will do in your talented mind..._ __  
_Could've been a genius if you'd had an axe to grind._  
What to do?

 

He pulled away from the mic, smiling with modesty as the crowd gave him a hefty round of applause. He looked back down at Barry before looking to his right and tilting his head. Barry got the memo and got up quickly to go backstage. He went up a small flight of stairs before peeking behind a curtain to find Leonard Snart, actual, real, Len, standing there.

 

“It’s been a while, Scarlet.” He smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes accenting his expression. Barry stepped forward to hug him, half to check if he was real, half to succumb to how he was feeling.

 

“Len, I…” He didn’t even know where to start. “I’m…”

 

“Barry, I need you to be sure. I need you to be sure that this is what you want above anything else. Music Meister told me why I’m here and I’m more than happy to help you with this revelation.” Len held Barry close, listening closely to his breathing.

 

“Do you want me too?” Barry looked at Len sternly.

 

“Of course. Always.”

 

“Then… Yeah. I’m sure.” Barry couldn’t help the small tears that left his eyes when he admitted that, but damn did it feel relieving and exciting.

 

“May I kiss you, Barry?” Leonard smiled, placing his hands on Barry’s shoulders. He nodded, pulling Len in by the hips into a soft, experimental first kiss. It was hard to describe, but it made Barry feel full and happy, something that just… fell short when he was with Iris. Len’s whole aura radiated compassion and care, giving the kiss the kick it needed to be perfect.

 

When they pulled away, Barry’s face was red with a bright blush.

 

“That was… nice. Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank ya for readin' <3


End file.
